Monday - A Leg To Stand On — Follow Me Sam P.

Follow Me Sam P.

I am a writer, educator, advocate and community organizer. My writings muse over feminism, education, business practices and mindfulness. Sometimes I consider how they intersect. I am passionate about these topics and have a deep knowledge of movement, mindfulness, feminist studies, education, gender, health, business, politics and performance.

MY BODY CARTOGRAPHY

I can’t strengthen a muscle dynamically if my goal is to limit, reject or make invisible the part I need to move. If I hold tension in the muscle, fascia and skin, I’m going to speak and move with that tension. It’s about learning a new way of movement. It’s about inhibiting the movement that’s already engraved on me to give myself more choices. It’s about a pause; an internal preparation of movement. In this Pilates-based series, we will investigate a specific body part which is involved in personal, social, cultural narratives by using body parts to create a portfolio for exploration and movement. The goal is not to build muscle and tension, but to release it.

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A Leg To Stand On

Hips and thighs play a big part in our culture. I can think of many ways we use in hips in language to describe reacting suddenly (shoot from the hip), being cool or informed (being hip), and closely connected (joined at the hip). Thighs have more of an aesthetic and feminine quality and swing between having to be curvy to the all-consuming thigh gap. Sitting in a feminine way looks like cross-legs instead of the masculine man-spreading style.

As we approach this session today, I want you to go through your own body inventory about your history with this part of you. How do you associate with your hips and thighs? What personal experiences might leave you in a feud with this area of your body? Look outside of your body to the environment. What in space, culture, nature remind you of your hips and thighs? I see mine as tree trunks, the solid kind, sturdy and puckered. Write it down, draw it out. How does your image benefit you? How does this image limit you? For me tree trunks are stable and grounded, but they’re limiting, heavy, tough to move and are responsible for holding up the branches. How might your perceptions about your hips and highs frame what you wear, your behavior and the way you interact with the world? Now you’re ready to approach class open to thinking, feeling, doing and experiencing movement from a different level. Hopefully one that offers you deeper insight into yourself and more freedom to move and explore.